Earth Day on the East Side

Community Garden Event to be Held Saturday, April 18th, 9AM to 1PM at 1412 Jefferson Avenue

Buffalo, New York—On Saturday, April 18th, from 9AM to 1PM, community members will gather at 1412 Jefferson Ave. for “Earth Day on the East Side.” This event is free and open to all participants, and is co-organized through East Side Stewards, the Justice for Geraldine and Mar tin campaign, Farmer Pirates Cooperative, the Winslow Ave. (Fillmore to Kehr.) Block Club., and the Square Block Club. Upon kicking off at 1412 Jefferson from 9AM to 9:45AM, attendees may choose to remain at 1412 Jefferson to assist with gardening and beautification, or may choose to volunteer at other beautification sites at the CS53 Community Garden and Learning Lab at 91 Winslow Ave., Hank Nowak Park at 1177 Sycamore St., the Winslow F/K Community Garden at 421 Winslow Ave., or meet the Square Block Club at the C District Police Station at 693 E. Ferry.

1412 Jefferson Avenue, a City of Buffalo owned vacant lot since 1998, was reclaimed last year by Justice for Geraldine and Martin and contains six raised garden beds, a little free library, and community bulletin board. Food grown on site is donated to the Merriweather Library community refrigerator. Reclaiming and stewarding 1412 Jefferson Ave. for community use and control seeks bring attention to and address historical and ongoing consequences of redlining, segregation, and disinvestment from Buffalo’s East Side. Historically, 1412 Jefferson Avenue marks the site of Martin Sostre’s former Afro Asian Book Shop, and where Martin Sostre and Geraldine (Robinson) Pointer were wrongfully arrested on July 15th, 1967. The Justice for Geraldine and Martin campaign supports Sostre and Pointer’s exonerations.

Since opening in 1965, Sostre’s Afro Asian Book Shop at 1412 Jefferson Avenue served as an empowering and liberating space for Black Buffalonians. Pointer managed another revolutionary bookstore at 289 High Street. Due to the bookstores’ growing prominence and contributions to the radical Black political consciousness in Buffalo, Sostre and Pointer were targeted by local law enforcement, arrested three weeks following Buffalo’s rebellion of June 27 - July 1, 1967.

Sostre was charged with illegal sale and possession of narcotics, inciting a riot, arson, resisting arrest, and assault. Pointer, who was working with him at the Afro Asian Book Shop, was charged with selling narcotics and interfering with an arrest. Authorities accused Sostre of conducting $15,000 in weekly drug sales and using his basement to manufacture and distrib ute Molotov cocktails. By the time of Sostre’s trial the following year, the arson and riot charg es were dropped, and the drug charges were reduced to a single $15 bag of heroin supplied by police informant Arto Williams, who later recanted his testimony. Sostre was sentenced to 31-41 years jury, and Pointer to 7-15 years, each by all-white juries. Pointer lost custody of her five children before being reunited with them after two and half years of imprisonment. Following nine years of incarceration, Sostre was granted executive clemency on December 24, 1975, and released on February 9, 1976.